How WellHub grew from a gym-pass idea to a $2.4B global wellness platform

Executive overview

Most corporate wellness programs fail because they offer generic benefits employees don't use. Cesar Carvalho co-founded WellHub after recognising that inflexible, single-gym memberships left most employees disengaged from physical activity entirely.

A single inbound customer call from a PwC HR director revealed the right model: a B2B membership giving employees flexible, multi-venue access, partially subsidised by the employer. Launching with PwC tripled WellHub's user base in three days.

The core insight: selling wellness as a business resilience tool — not a perk — is what unlocks corporate budgets and drives sustained adoption.

From classroom idea to first product

• Idea emerged during an HBS strategy class discussing a gym chain's fixed-cost model
• Original concept: a direct-to-consumer day-pass platform called Gym Pass
• Pitch to gyms: sell day passes through Gym Pass as a low-risk incremental revenue channel, not cannibalising subscriptions
• Seed round of $200,000 raised from friends and former colleagues — before any product existed
• Two co-founders recruited: one from McKinsey (analytical rigour), one from university (relationship depth)
• HBS offered a five-year re-enrolment window; McKinsey offered one year — reducing the personal risk of dropping out

The pivot to B2B

• B2C growth stalled; Carvalho began taking customer support calls himself
• A PwC Brazil HR director explained his need: flexible multi-gym access for employees across offices, with employer co-payment
• He effectively pitched the B2B model to Carvalho in that call
• WellHub launched the B2B product in three days; user count tripled immediately
• PwC Brazil had 10,000 employees — gyms saw hundreds of new visitors who were not their existing members

Concentric circle growth strategy

• After landing PwC, the next targets were direct competitors: EY, KPMG, Deloitte
• Logic: employees at competing firms saw PwC's benefit and demanded the same
• Priority filter for new clients: companies known for treating employees best, not largest by revenue
• These companies had higher margins and faster growth — and were easiest to convert
• Same strategy applied internationally: follow existing clients (PwC Mexico, then Spanish bank in Brazil → Mexico → Spain → US)
• Expanded category by category — landing one player, then signing rivals across the same vertical

Rebranding from Gym Pass to WellHub

• COVID forced gym closures; Carvalho accelerated partnerships with digital wellness apps
• Added Strava, Apple Fitness+, Headspace, MyFitnessPal, Nutrium, Sleep Cycle and others
• Clients began noting the offering was "way more than a gym pass"
• Name change took two years to find an equally descriptive replacement
• Within one year of rebranding, WellHub surpassed Gym Pass in search volume in most markets

Navigating post-COVID demand normalisation

• WellHub avoided the Peloton-style demand cliff by remaining platform-agnostic
• Strategy: partner with every trend rather than betting on one — Zumba, CrossFit, now racket sports
• Emerging user behaviour signals: shift toward strength training; evening workouts (5–6 p.m.) replacing happy hours
• Companies increasingly eliminating alcohol at gatherings in favour of wellness activities
• Youngest workforce cohorts now rank wellness on par with salary

The business case for employee wellness

• Active employees get sick less often and show greater resilience under pressure
• Employees engaging with wellness benefits are 40% more likely to stay with their employer
• They collaborate better and perform better across teams
• Carvalho's framework for CEOs: wellness culture requires genuine trust, not just resource provision
• Trust means empowering employees to manage their own well-being trade-offs without micromanagement

WellHub today and what comes next

• Operates in 11 countries; 22,000 corporate clients; ~4 million employee subscribers
• 60,000 gym and studio partners; top 100 wellness apps included in one membership
• ~2,000 employees; valued at $2.4 billion
• Current engagement rate: 30–40% of enrolled employees — target is 100%
• Growth levers: expand to 200,000 clients (current standard is still the exception, not the rule) and raise per-client enrollment rates